Birmingham Council Pauses Sutton Park Parking Charges Plan Sutton Coldfield 2026

Key Points

• Birmingham City Council has paused plans to introduce car parking charges at Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield.
• A council report recommended delaying the fees while the city council and Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council review how the 2,400-acre park will be run in the future.
• The council will cover the lost projected revenue for the 2026/27 financial year by keeping vacant posts unfilled in its parks service.
• Conservative and Reform UK councillors welcomed the delay but called on the administration to scrap the charges permanently.
• Proposed parking fees at Sheldon Country Park remain under review, while plans to charge at Lickey Hills Country Park are still set to go ahead in 2026/27.

Birmingham (Birmingham Express) November 13, 2026 – Birmingham City Council has officially paused controversial proposals to introduce new parking charges at Sutton Park while a joint review into the future management of the historic green space takes place.

Why has Birmingham City Council paused the Sutton Park parking charges?

The local authority has altered its position on introducing fees at the beauty spot in order to explore a new delivery and operational model in partnership with Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council.

According to reports by Local Democracy Reporter Alexander Brock of Birmingham Now and Birmingham Live, the city council recently revealed that it had “changed its position” since the original parking proposals were developed.

A cabinet report prepared for a meeting on Tuesday, November 10, recommended delaying the implementation of the charges at Sutton Park whilst the “future operational model” for the site is examined.

As documented by Birmingham Live, the newly published council report stated: “The city council […] recognises the importance of working in partnership with the town council on the best delivery model for this important asset”.

Reporting by Bromsgrove News further detailed that Birmingham City Council and Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council will jointly commission a study into a fresh framework for running the park.

To offset the income lost by not introducing parking fees at Sutton Park during the 2026/27 financial year, which ends on March 31, 2027, the cabinet report confirmed that the shortfall will be covered by holding vacant posts open within the parks service.

What have local councillors said about the parking charge pause?

Opposition councillors across Birmingham have welcomed the suspension of the scheme following sustained public petitions, though several political leaders have warned that a temporary pause does not guarantee the charges will never return.

As reported by Alexander Brock of Birmingham Live, Conservative councillor Richard Parkin, who represents the Sutton Reddicap ward, described the announcement as a “key step forward” while calling for the plans to be axed permanently.

In a statement posted on social media and cited by Birmingham Live, Cllr Richard Parkin said: “Thank you to all residents who joined our campaign and signed our petitions to block the parking charges in Sutton Park. These plans will not proceed whilst the review into the future running of Sutton Park takes place. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Cllr Richard Parkin added: “We will continue to push for parking charges in Sutton Park to be scrapped permanently but for now we welcome this success as a key step forward”.

Conservative group leader Cllr Robert Alden also expressed support for the halt in proceedings. As reported by Birmingham Live, Cllr Robert Alden stated: “We’ve been clear we [the Tories] didn’t agree with the parking charges in any of those three locations. Particularly when you look at Sutton Park, it is a nationally significant park”.

Meanwhile, Reform UK group leader Cllr Jex Parkin highlighted that the wording of the council’s report merely delays rather than terminates the policy.

As reported by Alexander Brock of Birmingham Live, Cllr Jex Parkin noted that the council report “postpones rather than cancels” the proposed charges, stating: “I would ask cabinet commit to actually permanently abandoning parking charges at Sutton Park and ensure a future trust or management body cannot reintroduce them”.

What is happening with parking charges at Sheldon Country Park and Lickey Hills?

While Sutton Park has been granted a reprieve, Birmingham City Council has split its approach across the other two beauty spots included in the original charging scheme.

According to Bromsgrove News, the proposed parking charges for Sheldon Country Park have been placed under review alongside the Sutton Park reassessment.

Conversely, Bromsgrove News reported that Lickey Hills Country Park, which sits inside the Bromsgrove district near the Worcestershire border but is owned and operated by Birmingham City Council, remains the only site where new parking charges are still scheduled to go forward in 2026/27.

The council’s updated stance was also referenced by Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas on his website.

As quoted by Bromsgrove News, Mr Thomas, who gathered more than 600 signatures on a petition opposing the fees and noted that 78 per cent of respondents to the council’s consultation wanted access to remain free, stated: “I’ve long said that Birmingham views Bromsgrove and the Villages as a huge cash cow”.

What were the original parking proposals for Birmingham’s parks?

Under the revised proposals consulted upon in 2025, motorists visiting Sutton Park and Lickey Hills Country Park faced hourly, daily, and annual tariffs enforced by a private operator.

As previously reported by Local Democracy Reporter Alexander Brock for Birmingham World and Express & Star, the revised tariff structure for Sutton Park proposed charging £1 per hour for up to four hours, £5 for an all-day stay, or £52 for an annual pass.

Under those proposals, charges were set to apply from 9am to 6pm, 365 days a year, with a 30-minute free grace period for short visits and free permits allocated to registered park volunteers.

Birmingham City Council had previously stated that revenue generated from the scheme would be ring-fenced. As quoted by Birmingham Now and Express & Star, the local authority had maintained: “Income from parking will be reinvested directly into maintaining and improving the park’s facilities, […] ensuring it remains a safe, attractive and welcoming place for all visitors”.

Background of the Sutton Park Parking Charges Dispute

The dispute over car parking fees in Birmingham’s flagship parks originated in the aftermath of Birmingham City Council’s severe financial crisis in 2023. Following the issuance of a Section 114 notice and subsequent budget pressures, the Labour-run administration introduced a wide-ranging series of cost-cutting measures and revenue-generating proposals across local services.

In November 2024, the council launched an initial informal consultation seeking public views on introducing car parking charges at three major green spaces: Sutton Park, Sheldon Country Park, and Lickey Hills Country Park. A formal public consultation followed in August 2025, drawing substantial opposition from local residents, park user groups, and opposition politicians.

Sutton Park, spanning 2,400 acres in Sutton Coldfield, is designated as a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Throughout 2025 and 2026, local Conservative and Reform UK councillors, alongside Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council leader Cllr Simon Ward, campaigned heavily against the charges, arguing that fees would deter visitors, harm physical and mental wellbeing, and cause displacement parking on surrounding residential streets.

Prediction: How This Development Could Affect Visitors and Local Governance

For regular visitors, families, dog walkers, and sports clubs using Sutton Park, the immediate effect of the council’s pause is that car parking will remain free of charge for the foreseeable future, removing the immediate financial barrier of £1-per-hour or £5-per-day fees during the 2026/27 financial year.

Residents living on roads bordering the park’s entrances will also be spared the immediate risk of overspill parking from motorists attempting to avoid paid car parks.

At a governance level, the joint review between Birmingham City Council and Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council signals a potential long-term shift in how Sutton Park is managed and funded. Depending on the outcome of the commissioned study, responsibility for maintaining the 2,400-acre site could transfer to a local trust, a town council partnership, or an alternative delivery body.

However, as opposition councillors have noted, unless a legal or constitutional safeguard is written into any future management agreement, a successor body or trust could still retain the option to revisit parking tariffs later if maintenance costs outstrip available public funding.

Meanwhile, within Birmingham City Council’s parks department, covering the uncollected 2026/27 revenue by holding staff vacancies open may place additional operational strain on existing maintenance teams across the city’s wider green space network.